Friday, May 20, 2011

Smoking will be banned in Belgium in all bars and restaurants from 30 June 2011. About time too.

There has been a ban on smoking in public places and workplaces since January 2010. But there were exceptions: "beer cafés" where no food is served, casinos and discotheques. The Vlaamse Liga Tegen Kanker said this was discrimination against employees who still had to breathe in other people´s smoke whilst at work. From end June 2011 smoking will only be allowed in a separate room, without waiter service - a compromise but it is still putting people´s lives at risks. Why can´t the Belgians just enforce a complete ban like in so many other countries?

Nicotine is an addictive drug and many smokers find that they just cannot give up by willpower alone. For those that need help, I offer hypnosis (in English) which is the most effective way to stop smoking. Hypnosis is relaxing and safe. You retain control at all times whilst I lead you to a new positive behaviour.

My usual rate is 200 € for a stop smoking session at my home in Limburg or 350 € in a rented office in Brussels or Antwerpen-Berchem. To encourage smokers to stop, the rate will be 25% off ie 150 € or 262.50 € until end of June 2011.

Monday, May 16, 2011

You may know Antwerp in north Belgium for its diamonds. In fact 70% of the world’s diamonds hail from Antwerp.

It is a vibrant city (population 470,000+) for shopping, fashion, business, culture (theatre, opera, museums) and nightlife. Now there is a new reason to visit.

Antwerp has developed part of its harbour and port area into the fashionable “Het Eilandje” (The Little Island). The centrepiece is the 60 metres high MAS – Museum Aan De Stroom (Museum on the River MAS www.MAS.be) which cost 33.5 million Euros and opened to the public on 13 May with a four-day long festival of dance, theatre, films, tours and free visits to the 10-storey urban icon. The MAS is a collection of 470,000 pieces in permanent museums plus temporary exhibitions eg diamonds and silver, a gift shop and museum square for open-air events or just to rest and watch the world go by. The harbour museum shows a non-stop 360° panorama film of shipping movements in the harbour via webcams. There are plenty of choices for good food and delicious Belgian beers. Don’t miss Felix Pakhuis and Het Duvels Genot.

I took my sons on 15 May. We saw exhibitions containing collections from the city’s museums: Life and Death – myths, religions and the impressive collection of Paul and Dora Janssen-Arts with relics from Latin America; A World Port (fantastic collection of ships); Metropolis; Power & Prestige and a temporary exhibition “Masterpieces in the MAS" (until 30/12/2012) with classical and modern art. There is also a floor of storage showing collections which do not fit into the other exhibitions. Plenty for everyone to see and find their favourites.

On the 9th floor is a viewing platform giving an impressive 360° roof panorama over Antwerp through 6m high glass with the occasional open circle to give the best quality photos. The building itself is built from hand-cut Indian red stone and designed as a giant storehouse with stacked containers or boxes to create a spiral tour with constantly changing views from the curved glass panels on each floor adjacent to the different museums. 3,000 aluminium hands, the symbol of Antwerp, adorn the stone. It is a striking design.

Antwerp is the second most important port in Europe, after Rotterdam, and the 13th busiest worldwide, handling an average volume of 160 million tonnes of international maritime cargo. Its location 80km inland offers the most environmentally-friendly means of cargo transport saving on the carbon footprint of truck movements. 14,000 ships and 55,000 barges call at Antwerp every year. The River Scheldt has been deepened to give a 15m draft.

The MAS has been built between Antwerp’s two oldest ports which have been totally renovated. There is an inner harbour in Willemdok with a high class of boats. Bonapartedok next door will be a museum dock for historic ships.

You can also fly to Antwerp (Deurne) from London City or take the Eurostarto Brussels then change and arrive at the truly impressive Antwerp Centraal Station which is right next to the city zoo and round the corner from the Diamond centre. Have a look at the flash mob video on YouTube which took place in the station in 2009 to “Do-Re-Mi” from “The Sound of Music”. This promoted Belgium’s own search for a Maria to star in their Flemish speaking musical.

Thursday, May 5, 2011

Here is a fantastic initiative - the world premiere of TEDxKids@Brussels taking place on June 1st, 2011 at the St. John's International School in Waterloo, Belgium.

2 events in 1:48 kids are going to get their hands dirty, soldering, tinkering, hacking, and composing. A series of hands-on workshops led by world-class Mentors will introduce the kids to a range of skills and methods.

Meanwhile, grown-ups will be treated to an all day program of leading thinkers and experts. The line-up of speakers: Mark Frauenfelder, editor-in-chief of O’ Reilly’s Make MagazineHackasaurus, the hardcore of the Mozilla Foundation: Atul Varma, Mozilla’s executive director Mark Surman, and Jessica KleinGever Tulley, The Tinkering SchoolWalter Bender, inventor of OLPC's Sugar systemEd Baafi, MIT MediaLab who ‘makes almost anything’Cory Doctorow, Uncompromising Creative Commons bloggerGabe Zichermann, founder of GamificationMysto & Pizzi, East Coast Black Eyed Peas remixersJamie Oliver, cook of cooksTan Le, maker of Emotiv's brain computer interfaceJoris Peels of i-materialise, the global manufacturer of 3D printersMaarten Fitzgerald Augmented reality researcher and founder of LayarIn addition to giving TED-format talks, they will guide 48 children in a series of hands-on workshops.

David Anderegg (Nerds) and Alyson Schafer (Honey, I Wrecked the Kids) will report live on the workshops to the adult audience. This unique event will be presented by America’s technology diva Xeni Jardin of Boing Boing.

Tuesday, May 3, 2011

On Saturday 7 and Sunday 8 May 2011 Clean Week 2020 will take place on Circuit Zolder in Bolderberg, 3500 Heusden-Zolder, Limburg.

Clean Week 2020 is the most complete European event for ecological mobility. The programme includes:- the arrival of the FIA Alternative Energies Cup for cars with less than 115 gr CO2- the Tesla Gentlemen's Sprint- the original suncars (zonnewagens) from high schools and universities- the Day of the Car (De Dag van de Motor)- the presentation of the Clean Car of the Year 2011 (including the Chevrolet Volt, the Opel Ampera and the Citroen Survolt).

Amazon in the UK now offer FREE SUPER DELIVERY TO BELGIUM

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I am the leading English Hypnotherapist in Belgium. I chose to leave the Spanish sun for the Belgian clouds as I believe Belgium is a good country in which to live and raise a family. This blog is my attempt to share my enthusiasm for this civilised country.